Numerous persons experience some form of hemorrhagic stroke or blood vessel rupture in the brain. Ruptures can occur with a number of abnormalities including arterio venous malformations (AVM), aneurysms (a ballooning of the arterial wall), fistulas, or a burst blood vessel. Additionally, abnormal vasculature is generated in the process of tumor growth requiring larger than normal blood flow to sustain the tumor.
Various endovascular therapies for treating vessel ruptures and blood flow abnormalities include implanting vaso-occlusive agents, coils and other devices such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,069.
Another approach to treat abnormal blood flow includes injecting hydrogel vaso-occluding particles and filaments into the vessels to be treated as described in Provisional Application Serial Nos. 60/288,458 and 60/288,494 both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Injecting vaso-occluding materials, however, requires careful handling in order to avoid various problems. 1.) The particles and filaments may clump and clog the lumens and openings of the dispensing containers and instruments. 2.) The small size of the particles and filaments makes them inconvenient for a doctor to handle. In particular, capturing/collecting a filament in a solution is difficult due to their small size. 3.) The vaso-occluding material may be contaminated during the mixing or transporting step. 4.) The vaso-occluding materials may become damaged during shipping and storing. For example, when filaments are shipped in an unhydrated state, they tend to be brittle. Such filaments are particularly vulnerable to breaking during shipping.
We describe a container and procedure that will aid in preventing degradation of the physical shape of the particles and filaments during handling and shipping.